Article of manufacture and the method of making same



March 31, 1936. A. H. SAUER.-JR 2,035,672

ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE AND THE METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Dec. 28, 1934 INVENTOR ALBERT l/EKMANSAUERJR.

. and may be employed for forming wrist watch Patented Mar. 31, 1936 o en: j

ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE AND THE METHOD or MAKING SAME Albert Herman Sauer, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio Application December 28, 1934, Serial No. 759,539

6 Claims. (01. 69-21) This invention relates to an ornamental leather thong, the method of making same and an improved wrist watch band or strap therefor.

An object of this inventio'nis, therefore, an improved leather thong or cord which is durable straps, ties and other purposes, particularly ornamental wherein a certain amount of utility is required.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved method for the manufacture of leather thongs which results in a thong that will withstand both perspiration and other normally destructive agents without splitting or becoming affected thereby.

A further object of this invention is the pro vision of a rolled leather thong for decorative stood that any modifications may be made in the and utilitarian purposes which has its inherent durability enhanced by a suitable strengthening 20.

element or core and in which the parts are united to resist'the normal destructive elements which rendered prior thongs impractical.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved wrist watch band employing the leather thong above described in which the strength and durability of the normal leather wrist watch band is materially increased without detracting from the decorativeness and flexibility of the leather bands.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of 'an improved leather wrist watch band retaining all of the comforts of heretofore known leather wrist watch bands without being subject to the inherent defectsthereof.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention should be'readilyapparent from the following specification taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, and it is to be underscribed without departing from or exceeding the spirit of the invention asdeflned in the appended claims.

In the drawing: v i Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive illustrate the several steps in the processof. manufacturing the improved leather thong of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a wristwatch andits strap utilizing the improved thong;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the various elements, in proper relative positions but detached from one another, forming on'e section of the strap;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 6

tions of the thongs as utilized in each strap sec- 5 tion; and Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a modified form' of improved thong of my invention. 4 Throughout the several views of the'drawing similar reference characters are employed to de- 10 note the same or similar parts. In the past flexible wrist watch straps havebeen made employing cord; rope and leather thongs, which, however, havenot withstood the usual wear and tear incident to the wrist watch strap. In prior structures the leather thongsv were rolled and the ends thereof cement to one another which cement would be de ated by perspiration and climatic conditions causing same to disintegrate and the ends of the thong to separate and render same unsatisfactory and frequently unfit for further use. By t e present invention the said ends of the thongs a permanently connected by means not acted uponby perspiration and the like, and therefore a wrist 5 watch strap may be provided having all ofthe advantages of prior leather wrist watch straps, without the inherent disadvantagest reof.

The thong of the present invention is shown at the right-hand side 0 Fig. 4, and as there shown it will be noted is o circular cross-section and indicated by the reference numeral III. This thong is provided throughout its length with a core i l which is a long tough fiber cord.

As was mentioned above, the method for forming this thong isv illustrated in Figs. lto '4 inclusive and is as follows. A flat piece of leather it having ofillength depending updn the size of the hide fr which it is cut and a width to suitably other. The ends of the strip i2 are then secured to one another by means of a lineof stitching :3 which is disposed as close as practicable to the core or cord H for tightly encasing the said core or cord within the strip l2 as shown in Fig.2.

The portion M, Fig. 2, of the longitudinal'sides of the strip I2 is then removed as closely as practicable to the line of stitching l3 which results in a semifinished product as shown .in Fig. 3 bringing the new raw edge i5 of the thong adjacent the stitches 13. The cross-sectionalarea of the thong improved leather thong indicated by the refer- 2 is now substantially circular with, however; a

short depending tongue l6 caused by the sewing machine stitches l3 which naturally cannot so closely approach the core I l as to form a continuation of the periphery of the strap around the core as to form a part thereof.

' The next and final step in the process is the swaging of the tongue l6 into the body of the thong sons to provide a truly cylindrical crosssection. This is effected by drawing the thong of Fig. 3 through an aperture I! ma die block is suitably held against movement. To assist in starting the thong through the aperture ll the. end thereof may be sklvd" or pointed as shown in dotted lines at I 9 in Fig. 4. The drawing of the thong through the die block l3 upsets the tongue ii of Fig. 3 and more or less compresses same into the body of the thong and results in a thong having a cylindrical cross-section.

In Fig. 9 there .is shown a modification of the ence numeral lll A. This thong-is made by substantially the sameprocess just described except that it is hollow or devoid of the core piece H.

In the manufacture of the thong illustrated in Fig. 9 the strip of leather is folded upon itself with a slight air space at the bend ,which is practie' cally negligible whereupon the edg'esv are sewed to one another. The excess material between the stitches and the'extreme ends of the strip is then removed whereupon the thong is passed through the die block la. The passing-of the modified thongthrough the die block eifects a uniform cross-sectional area throughout the length thereof and reducesthe air space of the tube to a negligible quantity. 4

From the foregoing it will Y that there has been provided a leather thong of circular cross-section in: which no cement or other agent has been employed which can be attacked by perspiration, climatic conditions or the like. It'will further be noted that this thong has its ends permanently united'and will withstand of each of normal wear and usage to the limit the various elements therein.

The improved wrist watch band illustrated in Fig. 5 comprises band sections 20 and '2 I attached.

in any usual or desirable-manner to a wrist watch 22. Speciilcally,the strap section 20, illustrated in Fig. 6, comprises an attachment piece 23 folded upon itself and provided with a line of stitching '24 to form an eye 25 through which the pin bar 26'passes. The free 'ends of the piece 23 are skived to ar'elatively thin edge and receive between them a plurality of short sections 21 of the improved cored thong l0.-- The sections 21 and the free ends 28 and 29 of the attaching piece 23 are united to one another by a line of stitching 30. The lateral edges of'the free ends of the piece 23 may be tapered from the eye 23 to the ends thereof depending upon the design to betojthe attaching piece 23 is a piece of leather folded itself to provide an eye 3|; for the buckle 3l, said eye a being formed by a line ofstltching a just behind the buckle. The ends 3| and a: of the buckle piece 33 are, secured to the thong sections 2 lby a line of stitching 31in the, same manner asthe said sections and piece 23aresecured-tooneanothen now be appreciated The section 2| of the strap, similar to section '20, has a watch-attaching piece 38, similar in all respects to the attaching piece 23, from which project thong sections 39. The free ends of the thong sections 39 are received between the ends 40 and, of the strap tongue 42 which cooperates with the buckle 35. The tongue 42 is formed of a single piece of leather folded on itself and having the free ends 40 and II attached to the thong sections 39 by means 0 a. row of stitches 43. The tongue 42 is provide of perforations 44 adapted to receive the buckle tongue as is usual practice. a

From the foregoing it will be noted that there has been provided an all-leather wrist watch strap utilizing leather attaching parts and leather strap sections each of which are formed without the use of cement, paste or the like which would be subject to perspiration, dampness or other climatic conditions. It will further be noted that the finished strap is very artistic and pleasing in appearance without in the least sacrificing the utility and durability of the various elements.

What is claimed is:

, 1. The process of producing a leather thong consisting in folding a strip of leather entirely around a flexible core, uniting the ends of the leather 'to one another by stitching as closely as practicable to the core, removing the surplus material from the strip adjacent the stitching, and passing said thong through a die .block to cause v the raw edge as effected by the trimming step to be embedded in the body of the thong and the resultant thong having a uniform cross-sectio corresponding tothe die block. 2. The process of producing a leather thong consisting in folding a strip of leather upon itself with thefedges thereof in direct contact, uniting the' edges of said strip to one another by means of stitching, removing the surplus material between said stitching and edges thereof, and passing the thong through a die block to reduce same to a uniform cross-section.

3. The process of producing a leather thong for decorative and utilitarian purposes consisting in folding a strip of leather about a flexible core.

with the edges thereof in direct contact, uniting the ends of said leather by stitching same to one another at a; point adjacent the core, and reducing the assembly to a uniform cross-section from end to end. i

4. A thong for decorative and utilitarian purposes comprising a leather strip folded on itself and with the free edges thereof in direct contact and secured to one another and said thong having the free edges of the strip, adjacent the securing means, embedded in the thong to provide a uni-' form cross-section-from end to end. 5. A flexible leather thong comprising a leather strip having its longitudinal edges in direct conwith a plurality tact, means for permanently uniting the said longitudinal edges of the strip, said strip having the free edges thereof, beyond the'uniting means,

embedded in the strip to form a tube, and a flexible core encased by said tube.

6. A flexible leather thong comprising a leather striphaving its longitudinal edges in direct conmeans, embedded in the strip to provide the thong with a uniform cross-section.

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